What's My Age Again?
by Pork Steak the Grande
Summary: Every Sunday, strange 8th grader Ryou is forced to walk his neighbor's viscious "Lolita" chihuahua in complete humiliation--that is, until his 14th birthday, when he comes across someone very unexpected--and older. Yami BakuraxRyou, shounen-ai!


Though I am oh-so-into cats, I somehow found time to write a story about dogs instead. ;D

Whatever though, I am just happy I finally thought of something to write!

Mkay, so _longer_ summary:

Middle Schooler Ryou has been cursed with the luck of walking 'Prissy', a Chihuahua with an owner that has a doggy dress up!complex. He's been forced to walk her every Sunday, and each time is an absolute misery--that is until Sunday, September the _2nd_, when something quite unexpected happens--his most surprising birthday _yet._

Bakura/Ryou as always, and AU, so no Yami/Hikari business. This is slightly shota too I think, since Bakura is bouts to be 19 or 20-something. XD If you are not into cute young boys with creepy, yet delicious older dudes, you -might- want to click that back button!

Alright, read on and enjoy, you pervs! 8D

* * *

Sunday; oh, bloody _Sunday--_a day Ryou had learned to love to _hate. _He had school the next day, and though that was agony, it wasn't the reason why he had such a deep loathing for Sundays. His reason was a little deeper and _darker _than that, one that seemed too twisted and warped within his now 14-year-old mind. Though it was September the _2nd, _his birthday, he was still forced to be outside, the muggy air heating up his skin, making him sweat beneath his tee shirt, fabric sticking to his flesh. It had never made much sense to him how such a dreary, grey-skied day could be so unbelievably _hot_, only adding to the misery this task took on.

And the unmentioned task, the one that was so grueling and unbearable?

"Ba--ark! Ba--ark!" A shrill, squeak of a bark sounded out from the Chihuahua attached to the pink rhinestone leash Ryou was currently holding, the fat little white sausage of a dog going _crazy _at the sight of a bird close by.

"Come on, Prissy, please!" Ryou hissed at her, keeping his voice low so the people on the street would not _hear _him. Unfortunately, Prissy did not listen and insisted on attempting to fight at the stronghold the leash had on her neck, going up on her chubby little hind legs, attempting to lunge forward. Ryou groaned and tugged the mini-dog on, shaking his head in embarrassment.

Sure, walking a dog was not that challenging of an activity, especially not one_ this _small. The humiliating part about it was…

The fact that _this _dog happened to belong to his female neighbor, one he'd known ever since he'd moved to Japan in the fifth grade. She was a portly middle-aged woman who loved all things Victorian, and was a seamstress for a strange shop she owned in the heart of downtown Domino. Ryou had only been to her store a couple of times, but when he had gone, he wasn't _sure _what to make of it. There were so many frilly, girly things in there, dresses that reminded him precisely of little Bo-Peep. The shop even had little parasols to carry around matching that image in his head. They reminded him of the Christmas dresses his parents had always dressed Amane in when she was little, ridiculously poofy with puffed up sleeves, embellished in tons of unneeded bows. Amane had always cried whenever his mother would try to shove her in one, and he could understand why.

Which brought him to the shop, and his next door neighbor, and why the shop was so _weird--and the little dog too; _grown women came to these shops, dressed head-to-toe in alike items, fawning over the supposedly elegant, "beautiful" dresses--grown _women, _not five-year-olds who had no other choice. Grown women were out there in Japan, who dressed like fairy tale sheep herders, as if it _was _normal.

…And his neighbor's custom _store _didn't only feature this "Lolita" (and Ryou still wasn't even sure why the clothing was called "Lolita" or what it meant) clothing for grown women, but also for their dogs.

…Needless to say, Prissy was clad in a baby _pink _dress. The _dog's _dress had a corset in the front that stopped at its waist, with the dress going out into a bell-shape, the skirt of the dress having three layers, one piled over the other, reminding Ryou of a wedding cake. As if a dog in a dress wasn't bad enough, every layer of the dog's skirt had a dainty lace trim, and the dog even had on a mini-white blouse beneath the dress, little pink polka dots spread over the fabric. And it didn't even stop there; not only did the dog have it's own Lolita dress and matching blouse, it had hand sewn little bows that sat evenly near each ear of the dog's odd little head. Top that dress with the pink leash and matching collar, and that was the ultimate recipe for complete and utter humiliation for a teenage boy, one who _already _struggled with his manliness thanks to his feminine looks and long, silky vanilla-white hair.

Ryou could already feel his cheeks burning as a couple of boys his own age walked right by him, quite sure he'd heard them _whispering _about his girly little dog. He glared at the side walk, trying to zone out the people around him, ignoring the laughs he heard as each young male seemed to pass. This was his own fault and he knew it; he had always been too nice for his own good, and that was why he'd endured the same punishment for over two years now, ever since his neighbor had gotten busy opening a second shop in Tokyo. She was often very busy, which left her little time to walk the dog (or herself, though Ryou had always felt _cruel _for thinking that). So, she had talked to his father when he had actually _lived _with Ryou full-time, and had a chat with him about it. Ryou had always been an indoor-type of kid, so he was at home practically every day. It was because of this that his father had flat-out told him he thought Ryou needed more time out of the house, so ever since then, he had been _stuck _with this taxing weekly chore, adding one more item to the list of reasons _why _he was socially awkward and had no friends to begin with. Of course, she did pay him but it was a very small amount compared to how much humiliation the chore put on him. Looking this _stupid _was not worth the 500 yen.

…Nor was it worth the name-calling, the questions of his sexuality, and all the stares he got when he took little Prissy to the park and couldn't even take her over to the regular water dish created there for dogs; oh no. _Prissy _was her mama's pride and joy and _she _could only drink bottled water from the French alps. Ryou had to carry a backpack with him just to take stupid Prissy for an 30-minute walk. He had to have her _special _custom made dish with her name on it, so, as her owner put it, "So the other dogs will know _who _it belongs to!" And who could forget the expensive bottle of Evian, and the bleach pen, towels, and first _aid _kit incase anything should dare happen to darling Prissy.

One of these days, he was certain his neighbor was going to be sent in to the mental hospital because she confused her butt-licking, dirt-rolling _dog _with a human child; hell, the blouse alone cost more than Ryou's entire outfit! He swore, he'd work up the courage to tell her he was _stopping _this--but then, he'd told himself that ever since the first week of starting this stupid job, and it had been two years. He still hadn't quit and he wondered pathetically if he'd ever have the guts to actually do it.

"Oh, what a pretty little doggy!" A woman cooed, making Ryou look up from his stride. His eyes widened as the woman watched the dog in admiration. Prissy noticed this as well and began to bare her teeth, because Prissy did _not _like strangers, nor did she like much of anything save biting and M&Ms.

"U-Uhm, thank you," Ryou muttered sheepishly, pulling Prissy's leash so she wouldn't attempt to jump at the lady's ankles for getting too near. The women took a step closer, making Ryou's anxiety worsen. He'd always had a hard time talking to strangers or anyone for that matter, and it made him get this slightly sick feeling in his stomach anytime he tried to tell a new person something, even if it was beneficial. She began to bend down on her knees, lowering herself to reach Prissy's level, hand reaching out to pet her. "Please," he said quietly, "Don't get too close, she, she r-really isn't that-"

But it was too late because the woman was ignorantly trying to get into Prissy's bubble and Prissy was _not _a fan of touching; she barked her most ferocious bark at the lady, and ran forward to attack, teeth missing the woman's fingers by nearly an inch.

The women yelped and back away, eyes slit in an angry manner, staring at Ryou. He immediately felt guilty, though he knew deep down it was not his fault, that the lady had went forward without even asking. "You know, you could've told me she's vicious before I reached down and tried to touch her!" She snapped, frowning at Ryou. And then she said the thing that pissed Ryou off more than anything else. "You need to learn better manners, _young lady_!"

Ryou was a very nice person, much too nice, but when people said that, it made him come unglued. He had the terrible urge to just let Prissy go so she could attach her little jaw onto the woman's ugly pink-painted toes. In his mind, Prissy was doing just that and _biting off _the woman's entire toe. She made a defiant sound and turned to leave, her black dress flowing in the wind as she began to stalk away.

He grimaced angrily at the ground, fist curling tightly around the handle of the leash. "Sorry," He breathed out, loud enough for her to hear. He knew he shouldn't have said it but he couldn't help himself--though it wasn't his fault, he _still _felt like he owed the woman some sort of debt because of it. Though he tried to warn her and he wanted to think badly of her…

He still found himself being the pushover he'd always been, reminding him of every time he'd ever gotten suckered into something he didn't want to do, like walking this stupid dog in the first place; he _couldn't _say "no" and he'd do anything to make anyone else happy, even if it meant he would be miserable. So, instead of uttering the "fuck you" the little devil on his shoulder wanted him to…

The angel won out and he was apologizing for all the wrong reasons, yet again. It made him feel even worse than before, sighing fervently and continuing on, shoulders slumped forward as he walked. The bell on Prissy's collar sounded out as she trotted along right next to him, bug-eyes concentrating on the sidewalk in front of her. Ryou was sure she was just looking for the next victim, because one was never enough.

His eyes stared at the cracks in the sidewalk, knowing it was just a few more blocks until he reached the park he always took Prissy to, because that was what her owner wanted and he never went against another's wishes. The park of course just happened to be one of the most crowded on Sundays, though he prayed that because it did look like it was going to rain, less people than usual would be hanging around there. As he had already seen though, this walk was already going quite horribly, and he was certain it could only get _worse _from here.

A car honked loudly as it passed by, making Ryou jump. His head turned around and he saw an older male's head peaking out of the window, lips curved into a sneer as he eyed Ryou. "Nice dog, faggot!" Ryou frowned heavily, turning away as the car drove off, sure the guy's friends were laughing their heads off as they drove away into the distance. Ryou tried not to be bothered by it like usual, because he was used to that.

…Still, didn't anyone ever _care _for his story, that this was not even his choice, that he was helping someone else out? But no; they really didn't care--noone did, and that was why the shy, easily embarrassed Ryou was the one who had to be sent out to do this every week to further damage any chances of ever being _normal. _He blinked as he felt a drop of rain fall atop his nose.

And now it was going to _rain. _It figured, didn't it? He'd wanted to bring his sweater like he usually did to hide his head in his hood, but he already had gotten out the door with Prissy when he remembered he'd left it somewhere in his room. The even worse part too--he didn't have Prissy's raincoat with him, so she was going to go home soaked and wet, and then he'd be forced to wash her dress, _iron _it out, and bathe Prissy as well. Of course, he wasn't forced to, but her _Mama _made him feel guilty for bringing her home like that, so he was suckered into it because he knew how busy she was with her work.

And what did he do all day? Not much; video games, read, do the little bit of homework that 8th grade came along with--he had no reason to say "no", and perhaps that was why he never could. But just once, maybe, just once…

He would've _loved _to be able to tell everybody "no" for all the things he didn't want to do, at least once in a while. Him, grow a back bone though? He smiled weakly and lifted his head, eyes staring gloomily to the don't walk sign flashing in front of him. It would never happen; he'd always be too nice and too weird, and was forever going to suffer for that; he was _positive._

"Lookie Mommy, at that boy and his funny-looking dog!" Ryou blinked and turned his head to stare to the other side of the street where a mother was carrying her little girl's hand. They stared at him and he quickly turned away, minding his own business. He tried to drown out how the Mother told her daughter that _he _was a girl as well, and that it was rude to stare. Only 25 minutes left, he tired to remind himself.

__

Only 25 minutes…

* * *

By the time he got to the park, it was _pouring _down rain and he considered just turning around. Prissy was whining and he was getting soaked to the bone from the rain, only after a good five minutes. Usually, he'd take Prissy on the gravel trails to keep her from going into the muddy grass. It worked pretty well most of the time, but today, it seemed like no matter what he did, somehow Prissy managed to find a muddy little puddle to step in. He could already see his lecture now when he took Prissy home, with her dress all dirty.

Ms. Nakashima would scold him about keeping Prissy on the gravel paths, as if when those were wet, they didn't get puddles or wet and muddy as well. The good part though was that there really were not many people here at all today; he could make out a couple of people near the large fish pond with their dogs, but they were far out of the way from vicious Prissy to attack and also far enough away to where Ryou would not be stopped and asked to talk to them, because dog _lovers _seemed to _love _to make people with dogs stop and talk about them.

…And talking, well…it was not Ryou's strong point, especially when it came to dogs. He didn't even really like dogs and he was scared of ones that were bigger than Prissy, which he completely blamed on Prissy because time and time again, she would do something to work up a bigger dog who would then get free from their owner's grasp and chase after him _and _Prissy as well. One time, he'd even gotten bitten by a crazy Rottweiler, who he'd _sworn _had eaten half of his pant leg.

He shuddered seeing a Black Labrador not too far away, the memory still a little too fresh in his mind though it had happened a year ago. He tried to keep his distance from other dogs, simply because he never wanted to live through a terrifying ordeal like that again. He took her along the darker path, where thick green trees covered the path a little, so as to keep them from getting constantly rained on.

Noone seemed to be down this pathway and Ryou was quite pleased with that; just a few more short minutes and he could turn around and drop this demon dog off, then go home to take a nice, warm shower since he was starting to get a little cold now from his damp clothing.

He closed his eyes for a moment, standing at the edge of the pond, simply enjoying the peace and quiet around him, the only sound being of the ducks quacking as they swam mindlessly in the dirty pond. Prissy sat down as well, bug-eyes staring up at him, as if wondering what it was he was looking at. When his soft green eyes opened, a strange noise came from one of the thick Douglas Fir trees behind him. There was the thick rustling in the branches, and the part that really shook a nerve within Ryou…

A _loud, _booming bark, one he was certain belonged to a dog quite a bit larger than Prissy. Prissy's ears quickly fell in anxiety, sounding off her own annoying little bark right back. Ryou sighed, trying to keep himself calm, sure that it was not the sound of a dog running free or something like that. He bent down a little, looking at Prissy strictly. "Prissy, quit it! There is no need to bark; you can't even see the dog, it doesn't _want _anything to do with you!" His hold on Prissy's leash lightened, and he reached down to pat her bizarrely shaped cranium, which only made her growl at him. "Well, I see we've come along way in two years, huh?" He snorted, eyes rolling. "Glad to _know _how friendly you are, even now."

He smirked at his own little joke, continually patting Prissy's head just because the sound of her weak growls were funny. However, it was the _crack _of a branch falling and the sound of a loud scream of "FUCK!" That made him yelp and jump up to full height. The leash fell from his hands and he immediately panicked, because Prissy was never a dog that _obeyed _anything. He'd never get her back if her little legs took her off quickly enough! Despite being a rolly-polly bratwurst, she _was _a fast little bratwurst at that.

"Prissy, no!" She quickly darted off in the direction of the tree. Ryou was about to start off after her when something caught his eye. A head of white hair was running toward him, an angry expression on the male's face coming further into picture as his legs brought him closer. Ryou couldn't help but stare at him dumbly, somehow struck by the look of the male; he was handsome, though Ryou'd seen many males who were. After all, it definitely was not hard to be better looking than _he _was--not that he was even into males, or anyone at all. Still, there was something about the man that made Ryou freeze, thoughts of Prissy completely gone from his thoughts.

…At least, until he looked to the side, to see a massive Bull Mastiff dog running toward him. The dog was dashing at him fiercely, and Ryou's heart immediately felt like it was about to leap from his chest. _Holy shit, _it was going to happen again! Fear gripped at him, a wretched scream tearing from his throat because he had been so mesmerized that the _dog _was too close to get away from. "AHHHH!"

"Stop running you fucker!"

He closed his eyes, ready for the dog to just tackle him and eat his face off. He winced, ready for the blow at any moment now.

…Yet it never came. Wait, what? He cracked an eye open and found that the dog had stopped right in front of Prissy, who was barking like crazy at the monstrous dog, as if she were challenging it to a fight. The dog panted happily, big face tilted downward, sniffing at Prissy freely. Ryou blinked, absolutely awestruck. That dog had just been _charging _at him like a crazed bull in a bull fight, and it was all because of _Prissy?_

He was even afraid for Prissy now, because she didn't even reach _halfway _up the dog's leg.

"Thrasher, you fucking moron!" Ryou looked over to see the mysterious male now only a few feet away from their dogs, looking angrier than ever. _Thrasher _though? Ryou still felt slightly scared, and even more so by the dog's name; what if it really was violent and was now just taking a moment to intimidate its prey? Well, it didn't have to work too hard, that was for sure; Ryou was already scared out of his wits--so scared, his common sense had evaded him and that was why Prissy was still _free._

Thrasher's thunder-like bark erupted from his throat, and Prissy actually yelped. She quickly turned around and looked at Ryou with this frightened bulging eyes, and started to dart towards him. Unexpectedly, so did _Thrasher. _And Ryou was right next to the pond, with nowhere else to turn! "NO!!" The dogs were only inches away and Ryou stupidly attempted to step backwards, upon the edge of a rock. The rock was wiggling and before he knew it, he was _falling _backward. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Instead of falling into the filthy bog-like pond, he found two strong arms enveloped around him, pinning him to the older male's body.

__

Oh no

. This was probably even worse than falling in the pond! He looked straight up and met the deepest pair of intimidating brown eyes he'd ever seen in his life. A lump in his throat formed and he found he couldn't speak coherently. A hand lifted to cover his mouth in shame, green eyes wide.

"U-Uh…!" He could feel his cheeks rapidly turning a deep red, the male giving him an increasingly irritated look. _He was about to fall and someone had caught him_. Someone who…made Ryou's insides tremble, yet not exactly in the same panicked way as the bullies who used to pick on him in Elementary school. This was a very separate, distinct feeling; his legs felt like Jell-o and his stomach was lurching, feeling as if it were flying like a kite inside of him. He felt so cold that goose bumps formed on his arms, yet he was so _hot _that he felt like he was sweating. His brain kept telling him, '_The dog, the dog!_' but he ignored it so easily.

What was this…?

It was then that he heard splashing and strangled, desperate cries; _cries from Prissy. _"Oh no! PRISSY!" He quickly leapt out of the male's arms and spun around to find both dogs in the water, Thrasher standing there blissfully happy with the water only a little past his dog-knees, lapping at the water--and poor Prissy, looking as if she was _drowning!_

Ryou quickly took a leap for it into the water, trepidation taking over ever part of his body.

"Kid, are you a _moron?_!" He agreed with that scream wholeheartedly, but what else was he _supposed _to do? Ms. Nakashima was going to _kill _him if he brought Prissy home dirty and with any permanent damage done to that dress!

He had _meant _to land on his feet when he jumped in, ignorantly expecting a solid ground. The ground, however, was made of rocks and a soft dirt bed, and his foot landed awkwardly on a rock, which made him _trip _yet again.

He yelped and fell into the murky brown water, catching himself on his knees in the water, hands strained into the slimiest waterbed of dirt he'd ever been unlucky enough to touch. Not only that, but he _swore _he could feel something fluttering by his hand. "Ewe!" He cried out, immediately jumping to his feet. He shook his hand out, nearly gagging at how disgusting he felt. He then remembered why he was in the pond in the first place and quickly ran over to where Prissy was struggling for her little doggy life. He picked her up, the dog at least five pounds heavier, he thought, from all the weight of her wet clothing. She shook as he held her close, probably very traumatized from all that had gone on.

…And the worst part of it all was how _caked _her dress was in dirt now, thanks to that stupid dog!

"O-Oh my god, you really are stupid, a-aren't you!" He heard thick laughter, and turned his head to see the strange male _laughing _uncontrollably at him. Here he was, going to great amounts to save his neighbor's dog and all that guy could do was _laugh _at him? Ryou felt immensely angry, actually feeling a glare coming on as he turned to face the male, specks of mud upon Ryou's nose and cheeks. He was _truly _soaked to the bone now in brown water, and…

The man was _still _laughing, actually wiping his eyes because tears were coming out. "Y-You're fucking classic, seriously. If o-only I had a ca-ca--amera!" Ryou's face was bright red now out of a mix of embarrassment and frustration alike, holding Prissy tightly to his body. His eyebrows furrowed irritably and he marched out of the water, stepping upon the solid ground, shoes squeaking from all the water clogged inside of them.

Ryou puffed his chest and strutted over to the _obnoxious _man who was _still _dying from laughter, as if it were the funniest thing he'd seen in his life. He faced the male and lifted a finger pointedly at him, teeth gritting. "Why are you laughing! This is _all _your fault anyways!" He told him defiantly, giving the stranger his meanest look. He didn't know what had come over him suddenly; he was _never _this bold and was already starting to feel a little scared because of it. Still, it felt _good _to be able to say what was on his mind for once! He stood by his words and tried his best to keep his ground.

"What is this?" Bakura stopped laughing suddenly, giving Ryou a rather calm, unperturbed stare. "My fault, you say…?" He purred his words in a silken way that made Ryou's ears grow hot in a most unnatural way. "My fault when _you _are the one who overreacted and thought my dog would kill you the moment he ran semi-towards your way?"

The way the man phrased it…Ryou didn't like it; it made him feel incredibly stupid and the man's explanation made it out to seem like it had been all _his _fault. But wasn't that what anyone would do if a _giant _Mastiff dog was bounding toward them? Sure the dog was panting and his large tail was flopping happily as he ran but…

Ryou gulped as the man leant over until his head was directly in line with Ryou's, his heart thumping uncontrollably. "Y-Yes!" He paused, eyes widening. "I mean, no! No; that is not why!" He tried to stay as unchanging and confident as he possibly could. Yet…Ryou looked into the male's eyes and swore, the jerk was just laughing at him even more in his head. His eyes; they looked so amused and Ryou…

The closer Bakura got, the dumber and more jumbled Ryou felt. "Oh? Then do tell, _fairy boy_, how this is my fault, because I am dying to know."

"W-Well…" He trailed off. And he had _stuttered, _stuttered when he was trying to prove someone wrong and be domineering. Prissy was convulsing terribly against him, reminding him that he really did need to go home and take care of her. When Ms. Nakashima took one look at her, he _swore _she was going to just slit Ryou's throat for threatening her "Baby's" life. He was _dead._ He looked down at Prissy, feeling slightly guilty. "Your dog…tried to…"

"Tried to?" Bakura interrupted, glancing down at both of them. He smirked knowingly at Ryou, eyes rolling. He stood up, glancing over to his own dog who was currently bouncing around in the water, freaking out all the ducks within. "Thrasher, come here you moron!" He called, making the dog's ears perk. The dog immediately started running clumsily again, water splashing everywhere as he bounded toward them.

"W-What are you doing?" Ryou cried, head turning toward Thrasher, eyes immediately cracking wide open. He noticeably held Prissy closer, still quite frightened by the idea of that dog, though it had yet to do anything to even be thought of as terrifying.

"Thrasher, get up here," The man commanded, leaning over and patting on his upper thigh. The dog jumped up out of the water, and took a moment to shake itself off, dirty water going everywhere. More mud managed to get on Ryou's face, barely managing to turn in time to miss the dog's ungraceful drying off. Ryou turned around when he thought Thrasher was done, eyelids lowering as the dog came to sit at the stranger's feet, staring up at him and panting in a friendly way. Bakura glanced at Ryou, still smirking, then turned away to face the dog.

"Thrasher, stay!" He commanded, stepping aside to walk over to Ryou. Ryou looked up at him confusedly, not sure what Bakura was trying to do. Bakura's hand reached up, setting long pale fingers atop Ryou's arm. "Give me your hand."

"W-What? Why?" Ryou asked suspiciously, sure he sounded quite paranoid, because he _was._

"Oh, come on you pussy!" The man sighed fervently and snatched one of Ryou's hands roughly, pulling him toward the dog.

"N-No! It's really okay! I, I'm fine, I'll go, sorry, I!!" Ryou cried out worriedly, trying to think of anything he possibly could so he did _not _have to do what he thought the male was going to make him do. He dragged Ryou to stand in front of his beastly dog, the dog staring up at them curiously. It stopped panting for a moment, then started again. Its tail wagged excitedly at the sight of Ryou and the dog in his arms. Prissy yelped and tried to struggle out of Ryou's grasp. Still, Bakura kept a hold of Ryou's hand, fingers gentler now then they had been moments ago.

His hand was…warm and felt unlike anything Ryou could remember. Ryou pressed his lips together tightly, trying to keep calm himself when he saw the male extending his hand out toward the dog's mouth. "R-Really! I need to go, I-I! WHAT ARE YOU!" Ryou actually hollered as Bakura placed his hand inside the dog's mouth, since it was hanging wide open from his tremendous tongue hanging out. The dog made a noise and backed away a little. Ryou stared at the dog in fear, expecting something bad to happen. Yet…the dog surprised him, and managed to only take that big tongue, and slap it lovingly along his hand. "E-Ewe!" Ryou glanced at the dog, blinking in a dumb founded manner. The male's hand let go of Ryou's, and Ryou hesitated, then backed his hand away to put it atop the dog, hand shaking as he began to lightly stroke the dog's head. "Nice…Thrasher…"

The dog accepted the pets, but grew bored and flopped onto the ground, rolling onto its back. It whined, as if begging for Ryou to reach down and rub its belly. Ryou actually found himself laughing at the dog's amazingly submissive behavior. Had Prissy not been growling in his arms now, he probably would've attempted to pet the massive dog's stomach, too.

"I…really am sorry," Ryou admitted, gazing up to the male, a slight guilt crossing his expression. He laughed sheepishly, smiling in a shy manner. "I've…never been around too many big dogs and I've had bad experiences with the ones I have been around." Memories of that Rottweiler came back full forward but…

He gazed down at Thrasher, who had given up on Ryou bending over to pet him, so he instead laid there quietly. He was an enormous mass of a dog, even bigger than the Rott. Yet, he was so _calm _and friendly, even goofy in Ryou's eyes. Ryou…liked him, and that was the first huge dog he could ever remember feeling comfortable around. "Yeah," Bakura said shortly, eyeing the boy in slight annoyance. "It _shows_." He peered down at Prissy again, wrinkling his nose. "Especially when you have the nerve to put your own dog through that huge amount of misery, dressing the damn thing up. I can tell you're gay but damn; do you really have to go that far?"

"What…?" He wasn't that surprised to hear that, seeming as it was the same insult he'd heard for years now, simply because of his hair and frail demeanor. Besides that, he dressed normally enough in jeans and Quiksilver/Hollister/_normal _teenage boy wear, so he didn't understand _why _everyone under the moon always accused him of being homosexual, even when he didn't have Prissy. "I'm really not gay," He said defensively, frowning slightly. "And this…" He looked down to Prissy, then up to Bakura again. "Is my neighbor's dog. I'm forced to walk her every weekend so…"

"Well," The male didn't look at all convinced. "You could _at least _take the dress off of her when you walk her, couldn't you? I mean, turn and hide in an alleyway; obviously the owner won't fucking notice as long as you put it on when you go back there." What the man said was not something foreign to Ryou; he'd thought about it many times but every time he tried to tell himself that was what he'd do, he got too scared and thought about all the things that would happen if he got caught.

…He was a chicken, and he knew it. "I…know," He said defeatedly, eyes lowering. "I just don't want to get in trouble."

Bakura snorted, arms folding over his chest. "You really are a wimp, you know? How old are you anyways, like 13 or something? Just tell the bitch "No". It isn't that hard."

"It is though," Ryou countered, eyeing Prissy, who looked absolutely miserable. "My dad and her talk a lot and he was the one who said it up in the first place so…I'm stuck forever, I think," He admitted, smiling in anguish. "And 14…today is actually my birthday." Ryou glanced up to the male, going cross-eyed though when he saw a weird _brown _spot on his nose. He cradled Prissy with one arm and reached his hand off to wipe the dirt off. He glanced at the male, sulking. "You could've at _least _told me I had dirt on my face."

"Why should I have? As I recall, you were just calling me a liar." The male grinned, eyes setting themselves on Ryou's. "And besides…" His eyes widened in surprise, eyebrows furrowing. "Wait, what _is _today?"

"Today?" Ryou asked, perturbed. "September the 2nd. Err, why do you need to know?"

"Ahh, shit! I forgot again!" He cursed, eyes rolling. He gritted his teeth, glancing to his dog. "Come on Thrasher!" He called, making the dog get to its feet. He began to step back, the dog following.

"Forgot…again? What…did you forget?" Ryou asked, eyeing the male strangely as he began to back away. "Work or something?" Bakura didn't answer though, giving Ryou one last glance before he turned away. He grinned to himself and stalked off, his dog following at his side.

"Wait!" Ryou cried, realizing now the man was leaving. "Where are you going?"

"Sorry fairy _boy_, but I have things to do!" The man called back, continuing on. "Thank you for the laugh though; I enjoy your idiocy very much!"

"But!" Ryou called out, suddenly feeling desperate as he watched the male get further away. "W-What about your name?" Bakura blinked and stopped walking suddenly, turning his head around. He glanced at Ryou, damp strands flying up in the warm wind. "I don't even know anything about you!"

"We're born on the same day," He said emotionlessly, turning around. "Now you know _something_." The man continued to walk away, leaving Ryou standing there, feeling the weirdest, yet _best _he'd ever felt.

September the 2nd, A _Sunday._

Every Sunday, he walked Prissy in absolute shame and discontentment, but _finally_ after two years…

He smiled brightly to himself, watching the stranger get smaller and smaller in the distance. He felt it from within, like he'd never felt anything.

…No, he didn't just feel it; he _knew. _Something was going to happen, and it was going to be something good. Suddenly, walking Prissy didn't seem like such a loss, after all. He turned around, grinning to himself. He knew when he got home, he'd have to come up with some story to tell Ms. Nakashima why her dog looked this way. Maybe he was dumb like that man had said but right now, it just didn't seem so bad after all.

* * *

Wow, I think that it's my weirdest fan fiction yet. XD So how do you like? Does anyone know what a Bullmastiff looks like? I didn't until I worked at Petsmart, but holy shit, they are fucking big!

I know I keep talking about how I wanted to do something more mysterious and magical/more interesting than this probably was, but bear with me. Haha, I guess I am just such a Muggle that magical ideas don't come easily to me! I am glad I finally wrote though; I lost inspiration lately due to the overwhelmingness of stupid work and school at the same time. I was just so tired for so long, I felt like I couldn't do anything! Things aren't exactly _brightening _up but…

At least I got an idea for something! XD I really hate chihuahuas and I think it is so stupid that people dress their dog, yet at the same time, it is so cute. I tried to dress my white terrier puppy in this cute little shirt I found on sale at a pet store. It was this cute light blue plaid polo and he looked straight out of Abecrombie, I am sure! I made the mistake of letting him sleep in it and the next morning when I saw him, the shirt was dirt-stained and on the hall way floor, with holes all over it from my yellow lab doggy playing tug of war with it! Funny how that worked out; I learned my lesson from now on!

What about all of you though? How are you doing? 8D Well, I hope! So, how did you all like it? Do you want more or are you good with it as a oneshot? Have any good ideas for anything that could happen or think it is sucky? ; Feel free to tell me!! I'd love to know!

I hope it at least brought a smile to your faces because come on, poor Ryou stuck walking a little Lolita chihuaua? XD

Okay, thank you all for reading and please have great weeks!


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